Mexican Cornbread

Looking for a traditional Mexican Cornbread recipe? Want to know what role Mexican cornbread plays in the culture of Mexico? Our guide to Mexican cornbread gives you the facts & information you want to know.

Mexican cornbread is a sweet tasting, easy to make bread that is often served up at meal times in Mexican households. The bread gets its name from the cornmeal that is used as one of the primary ingredients in making it. Mexican cornbread, and for that matter all types of cornbread, differ from more common types of bread in that the bread is not leavened using yeast, but other chemicals.

A large part of the reason for the popularity of Mexican cornbread not only in Mexico, but across America can be put down to the fact that unlike in Europe, Corn maize grows native to north America making it the perfect ingredient for Mexican cornbread.

History of Mexican Cornbread

Although it is impossible to put a precise date on origins Mexican cornbread, it is often posited that this bread predates the arrival of European settlers in North America and would probably have been a staple food of the indigenous people of Mexico and North America for centuries, if not longer. Other sources claim that while corn would have been ground up and used in local cooking, it wasn’t until the arrival of Europeans and their food technology that Mexican cornbread as we recognize it today was first made.

Mexican Corn Bread Ingredients

Part of the appeal of Mexican cornbread, other than its fantastic taste, lies in the ease and simplicity with which it can be made. Although there are literally dozens of variations of cornbread each with slightly different ingredients, all types of Mexican cornbread contain the same basic four ingredients: Cornmeal, milk, eggs and cooking oil. Beyond these basic ingredients all sorts of flavors can be added by adding things such as onions, cheese, pepper or sugar.

Preparing Mexican Cornbread

There are several ways of making Mexican cornbread and it can also be used in part of a bigger recipe such as cornbread casserole; however, the easiest and most popular way of making Mexican cornbread is simply to mix the ingredients together into a malleable paste similar to pancake mix and then fry it on a pan until light golden brown in color. Remove from the pan, let the excess grease be absorbed into some kitchen role and then it’s ready to eat.